Height: 5’11”
Hometown: Nokia, Finland
Position: Forward
Last Season: After spending the previous several seasons playing in his native Finland, Vanhanen made the jump over to the Western Hockey League in 2025-2026 and played for the Everett Silvertips. He had a big season in his one season with Everett, scoring 21 goals and adding 66 assists for a total of 87 points in 66 games. He kept his strong play going in the playoffs, putting up a 12-12-24 stat line across the teams 18 games.
Vanhanen’s strong
play was enough to get him drafted fairly early on in the NHL draft, where he was selected by New Jersey in the second round with the 37th overall pick. That made him the highest drafted player of the incoming class, going just one spot ahead of fellow forward Casey Mutryn.
Season Outlook: Vanhanen will have a chance to make an immediate impact for the Eagles, as there is plenty of production at the top of the lineup that they will need to replace from last year. Vanhanen seems to be more of a playmaker than a goal scorer, as his passing ability is what stands out the most from his game. He could be a good fit with a number of different players, but the best fit would likely be next to someone who is more of a pure sniper who can take advantage of the chances Vanhanen can create. We’ll see exactly where he starts but he should have every chance to make his mark in a big way right from game one of his freshman season
Fun Fact: Vanhanen is BC’s first every recruit out of the WHL
